The invention relates to a floor with strips each defining a length and width and along the side and end edges provided with either tongue or groove configurations so that the strips can be joined together. The floor is laid in groups each comprising a number of tongue and groove assembled strips each fastened to a subfloor by means of at least one fastener such as a screw or nail which is driven into the subfloor via at least one stepped transverse hole designed with at least one step in the respective strip and resting against said at least one step with a fastener head covered by a cover plug in the transverse hole.
In a first aspect according to the invention, the cover plug is a metal-plug arranged to be retained at a distance from the fastener head without use of adhesives.
In a second aspect according to the invention, each group is provided with tongues and grooves which both allow adjacent strips in each group to be mutually tongue and groove assembled along their side edges, and allow the end edges of each group to be tongue and groove assembled with the side edges of a first and second adjacent group respectively in such a way that each of four adjacent groups will define a rectangular section filled by a filler piece having mainly the same thickness as the strips.
Floor strips for e.g., parquet floor are typically screwed onto the subfloor by means of screws having heads that rest against the step in each their stepped transverse hole. Then, the holes are closed at the top by means of glued-on wood plugs.
The work of gluing the many wood plugs which normally are used for a floor is most labor-consuming and to this should be added that the wood plugs are easily damaged and/or pressed into their respective holes by e.g. a spike heel. This presents a deficiency in such floors which needs correction.
This problem is now solved by the present invention wherein metal plugs are provided instead of wood plugs. These metal plugs are arranged to be retained at a distance from the respective screw heads and are installed without the use of adhesives.
The metal plugs can easily be driven into the transverse hole by means of for example a hammer or other force transferring device. If the plug has a greater external diameter than the corresponding section in the transverse hole, it is retained by the great friction which has been generated between the transverse hole and the plug during driving of the plug into the transverse hole. This friction is sufficiently great to effectively prevent the plug from being pressed further down into the hole by for example a spike heel or other point contact applied force. If the plug is made of a metal, such as for example bronze or steel, a further advantage is obtained in that it will be so strong that it cannot be damaged or broken by being stepped on by a spike heel.
The connection between the metal plug and the transverse hole can furthermore be strengthened by designing the cover plug with a screw thread. The plug can then be screwed or merely driven or even easier pressed down into the transverse hole. For the last purpose, a screw thread having small or no pitch can advantageously be used.
Compared to wood, metal is sufficiently strong so that the cover plug can be designed as a relatively thin disc resting on a second step designed in the transverse hole above the first step whereby expenses for metal are advantageously saved.
The invention also relates to a tongue and groove assembled floor that has strips which are quick and easy to put down and in laid state are kept together in a strong and permanently lasting connection and at the same time form a pattern which is more aesthetically beautiful than hitherto known. This is obtained by the length of each strip being longer than the width of the strip multiplied by the number of strips in a group. Thereby, the strips will engage each other in a strong and simultaneously beautiful braided pattern, in which the strips are held securely and strongly together with each other at both the side edges and the end edges.
For this purpose, relatively short strips are used of a length of between 10 and 100 cm, preferably between 30 and 90 cm and especially between 40 and 80 cm so that it is not necessary to discard as much wood as when the conventional relatively long strips are used. The floor according to the invention will therefore be relatively inexpensive to construct.
Between the strips, quadrangular sections are left which are filled with filler pieces of a suitable material which can be the same material as the strips or a metal such as e.g. bronze whereby a prominently beautiful design is obtained. The same effect can be obtained by applying a thin metal layer on a base such as e.g. wood whereby the same advantageous design is obtained at a substantially lower price than if the filler piece was completely of metal. The metal layer can advantageously be applied on both sides of the base so that the filler piece can be faced with a new side up when the initial side has been worn.
If the side tongue of each strip is located in the center of the respective side edge, the sections and thereby the filler pieces will be the same size whereby the floor forms a harmonic pattern. An especially beautiful and harmonic pattern is obtained if the side on the rectangular section is just as long as the width of the strip.